Bahrain Blogger Dies in Police Custody

Bahraini blogger Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri died in police custody last weekend after being arrested by security forces on April 2nd for “disseminating false news” and “inciting hatred.”

Committee To Protect Journalists’ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem called for an investigation: “The circumstances of Zakariya al-Ashiri’s death raise numerous questions about his treatment … The government’s claim that he died from a pre-existing condition–which is disputed by the family–does nothing to answer any of those questions.”

In addition, Bahraini prosector Ali al-Buainain is preparing to level criminal charges against three former editors at the  independent daily newspaper Al-Wasat. Last month Nicholas Kristof wrote about violence in the country in Twitter dispatches. As press freedom dwindles, follow Twitter reports at the #Bahrain hashtag.

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